Stories of
American Heroes -
Brought to you from the "Home of Heroes" - Pueblo, Colorado

Hershey's
Medal of Honor

One of the Korean War'sMost Closely Guarded Military

Secrets!

The young Nisei Army Corporal waited nervously
for the guards to arrive. He looked one more time at the barren walls and desolation
around him, the meager facilities in which he had struggled for survival for the last 28
months....a North Korean prisoner of war camp. For a change the approach of the
guards would be a welcomed sight, Hiroshi Miyamura was finally going home.

Life
in the POW camp had been hard. It wasn't only that food and shelter had been so
primitive, it was the added pain of torture and constant brain washing.
"Hershey", as young Miyamura was called, had watched many of his fellow soldiers
die slow, painful deaths at the hands or the neglect of their captors. His own body
was suffering from dysentery and he had lost 50 pounds, a horrible loss to a man already
small in stature. As a Japanese- American soldier, the North Koreans had held a
special hate for the young man from Gallup, New Mexico. Now, at last, Hershey felt
he had survived their hatred and torture and would finally see his young wife and family
once again.

It
wasn't Hershey's first war, he had been called to duty back in 1944 at a time when many
Japanese-Americans were prisoners in their own Nation--deprived of their homes and
possessions--interred in "relocation camps". Determined to prove their
loyalty to the United States, some of these young soldiers had established an incredible
reputation as brave soldiers in Europe. By the time the war ended the Nisei 442d
Infantry Regiment had tallied an incredible 47 Distinguished Service Crosses, 354 Silver
Stars, and over 3,600 Purple Hearts. Sadao Munemori had exemplified the patriotism
and courage of the young Nisei, sacrificing his life for his native United States and
earning the Medal of Honor.

Hershey
hadn't seen action in World War II, however. Five days before his troop transport
was to land in Italy the war ended. Hershey was proud to come home with the valiant
442d, returned to his native Gallup and a waiting job as an auto mechanic, and a stint in
the Army reserves. He married his sweetheart in June 1948, just before his
enlistment in the reserves was to end. And then, fully aware that a re-enlistment
would probably call him to active duty, Hershey made the choice to continue serving his
country.

At
4:00 A.M. on Sunday, 25 June 1950 almost 100,000 North Korean soldiers crossed the 38th
parallel into South Korea. Within days the fall of the democratic southern nation
seemed imminent, reprieved only by the September 15th amphibious landing of MacArthur's
troops at Inchon. China responded first with threats, then on November 26th with the
sudden swarm of 200,000 "volunteer" Chinese Communist troops across the Yalu
River. Watching from too close a distance was a machine-gun squad led by the young
Nisei from Gallup. "I could see them swarming across the river through my
binoculars," Hershey recently recounted. He and his squad withdrew with time
running out and managed to catch the last ship departing Hungnam before the Communists
swooped upon and destroyed the town.

Over
the following months Hershey's squad was moved from place to place, unit to unit, in
support of different infantry elements. As historian Edward Murphy recounts,
"Like most front line soldiers, he had little idea of where he was and what role he
and his unit played in the war. All he knew was what he was told by his platoon
leaders." (From KOREAN WAR HEROES by Edward F. Murphy)

Hershey
had been in the field almost continually for seven months as the joint United Nations
Forces were driving to retake Seoul. During the darkness of night on April 22, 1951
the Chinese attacked in force along the Imjin River. By dawn the swarming enemy had
overwhelmed the defending forces and the Americans began to withdraw across the river.
Hershey's squad of less than a dozen machine gunners and five riflemen was ordered
to take up defensive positions on a nearby hill. No one expected them to last long,
just to delay the inevitable onslaught of the enemy forces. That onslaught came with
bugles and whistles on the night of April 24th.

For
hours the enemy poured over the hill in waves. Manning his machine-gun in the face
of the horrible assault Corporal Miyamura watched as the sheer force of numbers combined
with deadly rifle fire and exploding grenades began to decimate his squad. As the
remnants of his squad struggled for survival the young corporal noticed a mounting force
to his flank. Without hesitation he jumped from his shelter to attack with his
bayonet, incredibly overtaking 10 or more of the enemy and buying his embattled soldiers a
few more precious moments. Then, returning to his soldiers, he began treating their
wounds and directing their evacuation.

Suddenly another wave swarmed the
position. The brave young corporal returned to his 30-caliber machine-gun to rain
effective fire on the encroaching horde until his ammunition was gone. His squad
almost annihilated, he ordered the remaining men to withdraw to safety while he set about
disabling the machine-gun before it could be captured by the enemy. Then, as they
swarmed over his position, he literally bayoneted his way through them to reach a second
gun emplacement. From this position he ordered the remaining Americans on the hill
to withdraw while he covered them with effective fire. It was the last he ever saw
of his men, or they of him.

Wave
after wave was thrown against the hill now held by a single machinegunner.
When finally he could hold out no longer, Corporal Miyamura sought shelter in
a covered bunker. The area in front of the machine-gun he had left behind was
littered with the bodies of more than 50 enemy, tribute to one soldier's determination to
hold them at bay while his men pulled back. But it was only the beginning of a long
night for what may have been the only living American on the hill, surrounded by thousands
of fanatical Chinese Communists. Wounded, he struggled to return to safety, engaging
chance encounters with the enemy in desperate hand-to-hand combat. By dawn the
exhausted corporal found himself playing dead in a ditch as literally hundreds of enemy
walked past his prostrate form. One of them, a Chinese officer, was not fooled by
the bloodied body laying so still along the road. Hershey was captured and sent to a
prisoner of war camp where the worst of his ordeal began.

For
twenty-eight months he struggled to survive, to defeat the captors who did their best to
break his spirit and his mind. For more than a year his family knew nothing of his
situation, knew not whether he was dead or alive, for the Chinese had not released news of
his status as a Prisoner of War. Throughout the long days and the lonely nights when
he wasn't thinking of home, Hershey thought of his men. His squad had been ripped
away from him the sheer force of overwhelming numbers. Unaware that, due his own
courage, many had reached the safety of the American lines, the corporal believed they
were either all wounded or dead. He wanted to be home but his thoughts of home were
tainted by the prospects of his future. At times he was certain in his own mind that
if he ever did return it would be to face a courts martial for losing so many of his men.

And
now that long awaited moment of truth had arrived. It was August 23, 1953 and
Hershey had been escorted by his captors to make his way through the crowd of returning
POWs at Freedom Village near Panmunjom. From the waiting officials surrounding them
Hershey heard a strong voice inquire, "Are you Corporal Hiroshi H. Miyamura?"

Looking
up the soldier in prison uniform saw the crisp image of a United States Army General
Officer. The moment of truth had arrived and, he thought, momentarily the MPs would
arrive to take him into custody to await his long dreaded courts martial. But there
was no avoiding the truth. Even among the tattered remains of the returning POWs the
young Nisei stood out, so he finally nodded in affirmative. To his amazement the
general extended his hand with the stunning announcement, "Congratulations.
You've been awarded the Medal of Honor".

For young Corporal Miyamura that statement was more
than amazing...it was unbelievable. Just as the Chinese had held the secret of
Miyamura's capture for more than a year, the United States Army had maintained a secret
about the young soldier for the 28 months of his imprisonment. Later Corporal
Miyamura was told the reason. Had the Chinese captors known of his award, "You
might not be here, alive, today."

Two
months later on October 27, 1953 Army Sergeant Hiroshi H. Miyamura visited the White House
as a guest of honor. President Dwight D. Eisenhower shook his hand and placed our
Nation's highest honor around the neck of the Japanese- American boy from Gallup, New
Mexico.

(1) Young Hershey with his family. (2) Hershey and
his family after the award of the Medal of Honor. (3) Returning to Gallup, NM.
(4) Large 750x556 pixel copy of this painting of Hiroshi Miyamura's valiant one man
stand.